Youth — Nordic Labour Journal

AFI research: The sick leave debate needs readjusting

(Nov 17, 2024) Norway has one of the highest sick leave levels in the world. So far, no remedies have proven effective. The debate about sick leave and social exclusion sometimes needs a bit of guidance to stop it from going off track, says AFI researchers.

New Nuuk airport could provide lift for Greenland’s labour market

(Oct 21, 2024) Direct cross-Atlantic flights to Nuuk could bring even more tourists to Greenland and in the long term encourage Greenlandic youths to get an education and find work in their home country.

Young Norwegians increasingly unhappy with working life

(Aug 15, 2024) The 2024 Working Life Barometer shows more people are struggling financially, more fear losing their jobs or becoming ill and many young people are unhappy with working life.

Danielle - from Party Swede to seamstress

(Jun 20, 2024) Like tens of thousands of other Swedish youths, Danielle Backström travelled to Norway to work. She became one of the “Party Swedes” who worked in restaurants, cafés and bars. Since then, she has worked as a home carer and with plants. Now, she is training to become a seamstress.

Finnish future report: Youths worry about fitting into the labour market

(May 27, 2024) Finnish school students have become more anxious about their ability to succeed in the future job market. A new future report shows only 53 per cent of young people are enthusiastic about entering the labour market. In 2018 82 per cent said the same.

Socially excluded young people, a key issue across the Nordics

(Feb 29, 2024) Across the Nordic region, there is a focused search for measures to include young people who are not in education or employment into the labour market. Researchers agree that the best solution is for young individuals to be followed up by people they can have close and long-term relationships with. But the number of people who find themselves socially excluded remains approximately on the same level.

Danish Royal stardust for youth jobs in Esbjerg

(Feb 29, 2024) ”Energy for Each Other” is a youth initiative in Esbjerg municipality, known across Denmark, which has won an award for getting young people into education and work. Three of those young people now work at Den Jyske Kontrolcentral, where head of operations Erik Sørensen is very content with his young co-workers.

Employment specialist helped Norwegian Julia (17) find her dream job

(Feb 29, 2024) Close cooperation between two public authorities in Norway is giving young people with mental health challenges a new chance in the classroom or in the labour market. Employment specialist Anne Tvedt helped Julia Engan Pettersen find her dream job.

Iceland: Work is better than therapy for vulnerable youth

(Feb 29, 2024) “It pays to invest in people, and we must never give up on our young people,” says Vigdís Jónsdóttir, the CEO of the job rehabilitation centre VIRK in Iceland. Last year, VIRK was one of the signatories to a memorandum of understanding involving a large increase in support for young people in vulnerable situations.

Considerable local differences in Sweden's efforts for NEETs

(Feb 29, 2024) Swedish municipalities have very different approaches to how they help more young people with social inclusion, according to a survey that also includes examples of successful measures. Meanwhile, a Nordic project is working to improve young people’s mental health – one of the biggest risk factors for ending up in social exclusion.

Norway faces tough competition for green expertise

(Nov 06, 2023) Norway lacks the necessary competencies for a successful green transition. The Vocational School in Oslo is trying to do something about it.

Norwegian workers lukewarm to further education

(Aug 22, 2023) The annual workforce barometer shows fewer and fewer workers in Norway want to take further education and training.

Swedish schools want zero tolerance for violence

(May 30, 2023) Prevention and preparedness if the worst should happen – that is what working against threats and violence in Swedish schools is about. Cooperation could slow down the negative trend.

Norwegian nuclear physicist: make space for pink in science

(Feb 27, 2023) Sunniva Johanne Rose is a physicist and blogger. She is good at sciences but also loves shoes, makeup, interior design and fashion. During her academic career, she has faced much prejudice against women in pink.

How to include more people in the Nordic labour markets?

(Nov 28, 2022) If every Nordic country learned from each other’s successes, 700 000 more people could be in work, according to Danish researchers Sarah Kildahl Nielsen and Vibeke Jakobsen.

Åland’s coding education attracts international talent

(Oct 28, 2022) 70 people of varying ages, from different countries and different student or occupational backgrounds, have started a joint journey in Åland. They have been accepted to the brand new grit:lab education where they will learn how to become creative computer coders – a skill which is sought-after nearly everywhere in the world.

Nordic men face different challenges from women in non-traditional jobs

(Oct 28, 2022) Young women training to join typically male-dominated occupations make difficult choices but are also spurred on by family, teachers and politicians and end up with a high-status job. But when young men choose healthcare jobs, they get neither status nor good pay.

Will the climate issue rejuvenate Nordic trade unions?

(Oct 28, 2022) What signals were the most important to come out of the NFS congress in Oslo? We asked Ragnhild Lied, President of the Union confederation, to sum up her impressions. “What is clear now is that we are experiencing so many crises at once,” she says.

Vulnerable young people – how best to find them jobs and a place in society?

(Sep 22, 2022) What is needed to help vulnerable young people be included in work, education and society? A new report sums up the situation in the Nordics. Here is a spoiler: There is no ”quick fix”.

Young, smart and excluded from the Swedish labour market

(Apr 25, 2022) It is not enough to be smart. For many young people, the door is still shut to large parts of the labour market. The organisation NU – Nolla Utanförskapet (End Exclusion) – works with businesses to open the door to those who are excluded. But is it exclusion or inclusion we should be discussing?